Mumbai: When Alejandro Menendez, former Real Madrid Castilla coach, joined Indian football giants East Bengal back in September 2018 as their head coach, the only thing the East Bengal loyalists expected was to win the coveted I-League trophy that has remained elusive for more than a decade.
Jump cut to March 2019, the Red and Golds are in contention for the league title with just a match to go in the season.
Although circumstances do not favour East Bengal at the moment with Chennai City FC still favourites to win the title, the East Bengal fans and most importantly the club management are content with the work of the Spanish coach.
The team management has decided to offer a two-year contract extension to Menendez and the coach has already committed his future to the club.
Alejandro’s tenure at East Bengal has been extremely fruitful from the club’s point of view. The high profile coach has been successful in bringing out the best from some of the Indian talents in the squad.
A player like Jobby Justin, who was a bench warmer last season, has established himself as one of the top performers for the club. Justin has scored nine goals so far and is the joint top scorer for the club alongside Mexican forward Enrique Esqueda. The Indian striker rediscovered himself under the tutelage of Alejandro and has developed himself to be one of the best strikers in the country at the moment.
Alejandro, who was given a free hand by the management for recruitment of overseas players, has done a very good job in bringing quality players like Borja Gomez and Jaime Santos Colado and Esqueda. The 23-year-old Jaime has been a revelation for the club in I-League this season and has the potential to become an asset for the Kolkata club in future as well.
Only time will tell if the Spaniard will take East Bengal to new heights, but in the current scenario, the Quess East Bengal management has shown great proficiency in retaining the services of Menendez’s standing.
The club has finally learned from the mistakes of its knee-jerk reactions and decided to continue with the coach without thinking about immediate success.
